What are the differences between tinned copper and bare copper stranded conductors?
Sometimes the individual strands of the center conductor are run through a bath of molten tin before assembling them into a wire. Tinned copper wire is often easier to solder, especially if a lengthy (months to years) shelf life is required, because the tin coat prevents copper oxides from forming. If the cable is to be used immediately upon manufacture pre-tinned strands are not required and add unnecessary expense. Furthermore, an electrical phenomenon known as skin effect makes the use of tinned conductors a potential threat to the high-frequency signal-carrying properties of the cable. However, the aging effects of the formation of copper oxides on untinned conductors may also cause a gradual deterioration of performance. What is skin effect and how does it affect tinned copper? Briefly, skin effect is caused by the magnetic field generated by the current flow in the cable causing electron flow to be concentrated more and more on the outer surface of the conductor as frequency incr
